ZURICH, August 29, 2024 – By 2050, the global population will hit 9.8 billion people. That's almost 2 billion more mouths to feed than today. The rising demand for protein-rich and resource-heavy, animal-based foods, coupled with the growing threats from climate change to crop yields, spells trouble for food availability and pricing. We need more food: over 50% more than we currently produce. Our existing food systems just aren't up to the task of adequately feeding billions more without seriously harming the planet.

There's a shift happening, though. More sustainable food production is taking root right where most people live – in cities. Innovations like plant-based meats and vertical farming are drawing big interest and investments in Europe and Asia. 

At the 2024 Asia Sustainability Dialogue, organized by Asia Society Switzerland and the Swiss Re Institute, experts from Asia and Europe addressed the challenges and solutions they see on the way to a sustainable food system. Videos of keynote presentations and the panel discussion are available below.

Here are our key takeaways:

• Agriculture is running against its natural boundaries. To produce food for 10 billion people by 2050 will take 70-80 million hectares of cropland – 200 times the area Switzerland has today. That is not an option, as we cannot convert more of nature into cropland.
• To sustainably maintain food security for a growing global population, consumers need to be educated on how to change their diets; food waste needs to be reduced; and farmers’ crop yields need to be increased.
• There is an urgent need to transform agricultural practices to become more sustainable. China and India, home to 35% of the global population, have different approaches, with China moving towards digital solutions to enhance farm yields and reduce carbon emissions, while India focuses on empowering farmers with innovative tools to increase productivity.
• Asia, home to nearly 60% of the world’s population and to a fast-growing middle class, also sees an increasing demand for healthier food options due to an aging population.
• Singapore is positioned as a pilot for scalable sustainable food systems, driven by its innovation ecosystem and diverse demographic. It is home to new practices like vertical farming and urban agriculture. This, combined with measurements to reduce food waste, is critical to maintain food security with little available land and water resources.
• Alternative protein is a burgeoning sector in Asia, working to replace unsustainable animal agriculture. The region is home to a rapid growth of startups producing plant-based, cultivated, and fermantation-based protein alternatives. Governments across Asia are busy creating regulatory frameworks to promote alternative proteins.

KEYNOTE: The New Challenge to Serve the Asian Consumer

XiuLing Guo, CEO, Nurasa

KEYNOTE: Chinese and Indian Agriculture - Two Approaches for One Goal

Alexandra Brand, Executive Vice President Sustainability and Corporate Affairs, Syngenta Group

CASE STUDY: Singapore’s Innovative Solutions for Urban Food Security

Md. Saidul Islam, Associate Professor, Nanyang Technological University

CASE STUDY: The Growth of Alternative Proteins in Asia

Samuel Goh, Senior Policy Specialist, Good Food Institute APAC

PANEL DISCUSSION: Towards a Sustainable Food System

Moderated by Mitali Chatterjee, Swiss Re Institute India

SPEAKERS

Xiuling Guo is CEO of Nurasa, a wholly-owned company of Temasek in Singapore, which works to accelerate access at scale to sustainable food across Asia. She is a distinguished leader in the food industry, with over two decades of experience in the global ingredients and quick service restaurant (QSR) sectors.
She was most recently the Managing Director of Cargill's Global Edible Oil Solutions Business in Asia. Prior to joining Cargill, she served as the Supply Chain Director at Yum!, where she supported the business' expansion plans in China.

Alexandra Brand is Executive Vice President, Sustainability and Corporate Affairs, at Syngenta. Prior to this, she led one of Syngenta Group’s largest and most profitable businesses as the Crop Protection Regional Director for EAME. From 2018 to 2020, Alexandra was Chief Sustainability Officer of Syngenta Group, where she led the newly created Business Sustainability Group to evolve existing sustainability initiatives including The Good Growth Plan and to drive forward the company’s sustainability agenda. Alexandra joined Syngenta in late 2015 as Regional Director of Syngenta’s crop protection and seed operations across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Before this, she held various positions in the BASF Group, including senior vice president of its global Animal Nutrition business unit, vice president of the Global Marketing Pharma Ingredients unit as well as chief of staff for BASF’s chief executive officer. Alexandra gained international experience through her role as director of BASF’s Sub Regional Operating Manager Intermediates in South Asia, with its headquarters in Mumbai, India. Alexandra studied chemistry at the Technische Universität in Darmstadt, Germany.

Saidul Islam is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Sciences and the Asian School of the Environment at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He's a former Visiting Scholar in the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2018).
His research interests include environmental sociology and international development, with a particular focus on industrial aquaculture, global agro-food system, climate change, food security, environmental sustainability. So far, he has published eight books on these topics, including Climate change and food security in Asia Pacific: Response and resilience (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021; co-authored).

Samuel Goh is a Senior Policy Specialist at the Good Food Institute Asia Pacific, Asia's leading alternative protein think tank, accelerating a shift towards a more secure and sustainable food system. He works closely with governments and civil society to establish an enabling regulatory and policy environment for the alternative protein sector. Prior to joining GFI, Samuel worked in government affairs and public policy, including at the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), where he developed national policies to safeguard food safety and security. Samuel holds a master's degree in environmental management from the University of Queensland and a bachelor's in microbiology from the Queensland University of Technology.

Paul Hammer is SwissRe's lead underwriter for the North American agriculture market. Additionally, he is responsible for business development with a sustainability focus. As a trained geophysicist, Paul initially worked on deep drilling and nuclear waste projects before transitioning to Swiss Re's agricultural team in 2015. In his role as an agricultural product manager, he reviewed and developed parametric insurance products for Swiss Re's clients globally. Paul also contributed to the company's innovation strategy and led the development of opti-crop, a crop health application distributed to insurers and their clients. The application leverages advanced technologies and satellite imagery to provide real time insights on crop health as well as the performance of parametric insurance products.

Christine Schäfer is a Senior Researcher and speaker at the GDI Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute. She analyses social, economic and technological trends, focusing on food, consumption and retail. Christine studied business administration at the Universities of Bern and Valencia, with a focus on marketing and consumer behaviour. Before joining GDI, she completed a trainee programme at US pharmaceutical and consumer goods manufacturer Johnson & Johnson in Zug.

Mitali Chatterjee is Vice President, Insurance Research Manager at the Swiss Re Institute in India. Her key focus areas include digital ecosystems, mental health, public sector solutions, electric vehicles, sustainability and decarbonization. She has over twelve years of experience in research and thought leadership and is a regular speaker at various industry and academic forums, along with client events. Prior to joining Swiss Re, Mitali was a research specialist with Accenture. She has also worked at the Deloitte Center for Government Insights. In these roles, Mitali has authored several thought papers focusing on cross-cutting emerging technologies and their impact on the public sector. Mitali is an economist, with a master's degree from Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai, India.

About the Asia Sustainability Dialogue

The Asia Sustainability Dialogue is an annual event organized by Asia Society Switzerland and Swiss Re Institute. It provides a platform for in-depth discussions on sustainable practices, environmental resilience, and green economic growth. Featuring a blend of thought leaders, policymakers, business innovators, and environmental activists from both continents, the dialogue strives to inspire responsible action and sustainable development and promote cooperation in these areas between Europe and Asia.

Organizing partner: